Mr. Tăng Thức
(Of the 7th generation)
By Mr. Tăng Thiên Tài
(Of the 9th generation)
Mr. Tăng Thức, aka Kỉnh Chi, graduated with both Hán literature baccalaureate degrees, and was also awarded the honorary title of “Phụng Giảng Đại Phu”(1), by the Nguyễn Kingdom.
For us to know something about his life, we copied the inscriptions on his grave headstone offered by then Điện Bàn District Chief Nguyễn Đ́nh Bá:
A noble man conducts his life in such a way that there are three constants that will never disappear but will instead be able to challenge time forever. The first one to is to build good deeds so that future generations of his can benefit from the fruit of good seeds he has planted in his life. The better man he was, the more glorious his descendants' achievements should be.
In recognition of his achievements, King Nguyễn bestowed upon Mr. Tăng Thức, the Tăng first generation member who had both Han literature baccalaureate degrees, the title of Phung Nghi Dai Phu of the Kingdom Academy, corresponding to the fifth rank of the royal civil servant classification.
Born with inherited intelligence, Mr. Tăng Thức always lived with an open heart, treated everybody with respect and understanding. He preferred a peaceful and pleasant life, was very inclined to do charitable works, and was always ready to listen to other people’s opinions in the most civilized manner. With his integrity, sincerity, and unselfish personality, he commanded respect from all the people he had in contact with during his life.
Honored by the King and his peers in his senior years, he lived a quiet family life with few contacts from the outside world. His mental and physical conditions were quite remarkable by the time he passed away peacefully, without being affected by any real health problems.
He was married to Mrs. Lê Thị Thuận, who gave him 4 sons and 2 daughters, plus a total of 54 grandsons and grand daughters.
Thanks to the Honorable Tăng Thức’s life of integrity and the accumulation of good deeds he accomplished, his descendants will continue to benefit from the fruits of his exemplary life.
This inscription was offered in the 11th year of King Bảo Đại (Lunar Year Binh Ty-1936-Summer time), by Nguyễn Đ́nh Bá, Dien Ban District Chief.
Notes: For details about his sons and their biography, please refer to page 10 (Mr. Tăng Thức’s branch of the 7th generation)
(1) The honorary titles given by the Nguyễn Kingdom to many of our ancestors during French colonial time included both people who worked directly with the Kingdom local administration and the ones who were under the French administration. Such a title provided a very important social status to the bearers, and was highly sought after. For civil servants, the honorary title always corresponds to the Kingdom ranking system, which goes from Rank 1 to Rank 9, with Rank 1 reserved for minister level in the Kingdom hierarchy.
June 2004
By Tăng Thiên Tài
